Thunder 148 for 7 (Boyce 65, Lamb 50, Levick 4-22) beat Northern Diamonds 92 (Jones 3-23) by 56 runs

Thunder survived a manic late-order collapse to win a pulsating cross-Pennine Charlotte Edwards Cup clash with Northern Diamonds by 56 runs at Sale.

The Diamonds, however, were about to undo all of their good work as, including the loss of returning England star Nat Sciver for two, they collapsed to 33 for six in the seventh over of their reply. They were unable to recover and were bowled out for 92 in 20 overs.

Lamb's fourth Thunder score of 50 or more and Boyce's third were central to a competitive score and both came at better than a run-a-ball.

The pair shared three sixes, two hit down the ground and the other over midwicket.

Lamb reached her fifty first, off 40 balls, before falling next ball to a brilliant diving catch from Sciver running in from the deep midwicket fence off Abi Glen's seamers (95 for one in the 13th over).

Boyce followed her there off 42 balls, reached with a straight six off New Zealand off-spinner Leigh Kasperek.

But she was the second of the six wickets to fall in the last 13 legitimate balls of the innings as Thunder subsided badly from 136 for one in the 18th.

Levick (four for 22 from four overs) ousted Shachi Pai caught in the deep and Ellie Threlkeld and Laura Jackson both bowled at the end of the 18th and start of the 20th overs - but there was a wide in between to prevent a hat-trick being taken.

She added the wicket of Laura Marshall with the penultimate ball of the innings, added to two wickets for the left-arm spin of Linsey Smith as the Diamonds' four spinners returned combined figures of six for 93 from 14 overs.

While the Thunder were missing England duo Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross due to IPL Challenge duty, the Diamonds were able to include Sciver as a batter only for her first appearance since the early April World Cup final in New Zealand.

And she was thrust into early action with the bat as national colleague Lauren Winfield-Hill, seemingly hampered by a leg injury suffered in the field, was bowled for a duck four balls into the visiting chase trying to hit Jackson (two for 16 from four overs) to leg.

But Sciver's first innings of the 2022 summer lasted only 10 balls as she also was bowled pushing forwards at Jackson.

And when Hollie Armitage slapped former team-mate Phoebe Graham to mid-on shortly afterwards, the Diamonds were eight for three in the fourth over.

Jones then trapped Abi Glen and Bess Heath lbw in the sixth over before Kasperek was run out by Alex Hartley as the score slipped to a game deciding 33 for six in the seventh.

Jones later bowled tail-ender Rachael Slater as wickets continued to fall with the game already decided.